The Bird's Games
by bubbles-311
Summary: The Hunger Games from Rue's POV. She's my favourite character in the book and she wouldn't leave me alone. It starts at the beginning of the Hunger Games. Rated T because, being the Hunger Games, it's pretty violent in places. Enjoy!
1. The Games Begin

_This is my 1st fanfic so please rate and review!! This doesn't start at the beginning of the book, it starts at the beginning of the Hunger Games. Enjoy!!_

As I stand on my metal plate, preparing to run, I look around and survey the landscape. There is the Cornucopia in the centre, with my fellow tributes positioned around it. To my left, I can see a steep slope, going into some kind of field. To the back of me lies a lake, to my right and directly in front of me lie piney woods. I decide that's where I'm going to head. I look around at the supplies. The items nearest to me are a sheet of plastic, a waterskin, a square of fabric maybe a metre square, and a pair of socks. I know that the sixty seconds must be almost up. I see Katniss on my right, and can't help hoping that she survives today. This thought just forms in my mind when the gong is struck. I take off, scooping up the socks, the fabric and the waterskin but leaving the plastic because a girl, I think from 4, has got it and I don't want to risk a fight. I sprint as hard as I can to my right, around the Cornucopia and towards the woods. I want to look around to check where my fellow tributes are but I resist the temptation, knowing that it will slow me down. However, I know in the back of my mind that I am probably fairly safe, as I am the smallest and I am not competing for any supplies. I feel the scratch of bushes against my skin, and know that I have entered the woods.

I don't let myself slow down until I'm sure I'm far enough out of range for the others to bother coming after me right away. I slow to a jog, and get the opportunity to look around. I see that the woods are denser than they looked from the outside. Excellent. I stop briefly to scale the best-looking tree, and I continue in the trees for as long as I can. I know that for me, the smallest tribute who can't really use any weapon except for a slingshot, my ability to climb and to run will be my greatest defenses.

I have travelled I guess at least a few kilometres when the sky begins to darken. I know that the death recap will come soon, so I scale a tree as high as I can, and settle down. In the time that passes, I fashion a slingshot out of part of the fabric and a stick I found, cutting the fabric with a stone that has a fairly sharp edge. I make the rest of the fabric into a sort of bag, cutting long strips for shoulder straps. I managed to find a pool, which I filled my waterskin from, and a fairly good collection of roots and berries. I'm just finishing a handful of berries when the cannons boom. I count them–eleven in all. Eleven tributes died at the bloodbath. I wonder if Katniss died, but just then, the sky lights up with the seal of the Capitol. I know that after the anthem finishes, I will find out who died. First the girl from 3 is shown, so the Careers from 1 and 2 survived. Then the boy from 4. I had expected all the Careers to survive the first day. The boy from 5. Both from 6. Both from 7. The boy from 8. Both from 9. There's only one more dead tribute. I wonder for a moment if it's Katniss, but then the sky lights up with the face of the girl from 10. I wonder why I was so worried about Katniss, but fall asleep before I can figure it out.

When I wake up, the sky is still dark, but it looks like it always does just before the sun comes up. So I actually got a decent amount of sleep the first day in the arena. I wonder today where all the others are. I also wonder if I can get some more food. I decide to stay in my tree until the sun rises, and then I'll get some food. I don't have to wait long. The sun rises in about half an hour, and I carefully, making sure to make no noise, slide down from my tree. After walking for only a few minutes, I find a bush laden with berries. I cautiously break one open, and recognise it as a grape berry. We get them in the woods near the orchards at home. I pick as many as I can without making it too obvious someone's been here, and move on. Almost immediately I find a patch of the leaves that cure tracker jacker stings. I pick all of them, not bothering to be inconspicuous, because my guess is that if these leaves are here, there are tracker jackers too.

I've been searching for not very long when I hear footsteps. Not just one pair but many. I know that these are the Careers. I scale a tree as fast and as noiselessly as I can. I get about fifteen metres up when they are literally three trees away. I realise my heart is pounding, and I will it not to be loud enough for them to hear. They pass right under my tree, and they are heading away from the lake.

I hardly let myself breathe until I'm absolutely positive that they are out of hearing range. I climb down silently, and am just about to go find a thick tree to nest in for a while when I realise that this is an excellent oppurtunity to spy on the Career's base camp. I'm almost certain that it's back at the lake. I know roughly which direction I came from, and I alternate between walking and jogging until I can see the edge of the woods and, beyond that, the lake. I creep down, getting my body as close to the ground as I can. I crawl into a clump of bushes and peep out. What I see confuses me.

The Career's supplies are stacked in a pyramid shape with a net around it. There ares supplies scattered all around the pyramid, like the layout of supplies around the Cornucopia. The only guard I can see is an average sized boy with a spear, who I realise is from district 3. That surprises me, since 3 isn't one of the Career districts. Plus he's not very big, and his spear is the only weapon I can see he has. The actual camp is about thirty metres away from the pyramid of supplies. I know that this isn't quite right. Something makes the Careers very willing to leave all their precious food right out in the open. I decide to go back to the thicker part of the woods to try and puzzle this out, but I only make it about ten minutes in when I see the fire.


	2. Aftermath

_Hi people!! This chapter might not be as good as the first one, but I did it in a bit of a rush. Anyway, I'll make up for it later. Hope you like it!!_

_Disclaimer:I do not own the Hunger Games. I am merely an average writer borrowing the amazing world that Suzanne Collins created._

The fire is descending on me in a wall twenty metres high. The Gamemakers must have decided it's getting boring. I try to think clearly as I sprint away from the fire. I have to get to water. The only water sources I've seen are the lake and the little pool that I filled my waterskin from. The lake's probably closer but is sure to be heavily populated with Careers. I decide to take a risk and head back towards the pool. It's lucky I inherited my mother's sense of direction. I reach the pool in either a very long or very short time, I'm not sure which because I'm running for my life from a massive firestorm. We have fires occasionally in the orchards at home, but nothing like this. I wade up to my waist into the pool, about a metre and a half from the nearest edge. I hope it's enough.

_Ssssss!!! _ I leap out of the way as a ball of fire splashes into the pool just next to me. I look up, and the sky is filled with fireballs. I have to get out of the pool; I can't dodge them quickly enough in the water. I've only gone half a step when another rains down, this one passing over my left forearm before splashing. The pain is horrible, but is wiped from my mind as more fireballs shoot at me. There's no time to think, I just move when my reflexes tell me too. Three, four, five, six more I dodge before the fire stops. Not gradually, just like that. I splash back into the pool, rolling up the sleeve of my jacket to look at the burn on my arm. The skin is red and throbbing, but it's not too bad. It's lucky the rest of my jacket didn't catch fire as well. The sleeve has a small hole in it, and most of the left sleeve is black, but it hasn't been damaged a lot. I ease my arm into the pool, almost sighing with relief when the cool blanket of water envelopes my arm. My mind wanders back to my fellow tributes. How did they fare in the fire? I haven't heard a cannon, so they all must have survived. I know I should have hoped that some of them died, but I can't seem to bring myself to accept that, whether I survive or not, twenty-three children must die.

This flicker of sentimentality is snuffed out, however, by the sound of approaching footsteps. By the sound of it, the tribute hasn't fared too well in the fire; it sounds like they are limping and possibly are having trouble breathing. Nevertheless, I jump out of the pool and rush up a tree. From the branches I can vaguely see, through the smoke that still hasn't cleared, the outline of a girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen. I was right, she is limping, and after soaking both her hands and her right leg in the pool, she falls unconscious. I squint through the leaves and the smoke, and make a startling realization: it's Katniss.

I stay in the tree, taking small, slow sips of water and glancing down at Katniss, for I don't know how long. What I do know, however, is soon I hear the clumpy, heavy pairs of feet again. The Careers. This time, however, I don't freak out. I'm almost certain that I'm up high enough and that I can be quiet enough that they won't notice me. Katniss, however, is another matter. She only just makes it up a tree before the Careers break into the clearing. She's very exposed–her tree doesn't have much leaf cover on the lower branches. The Careers can see her very clearly, but I realise that she's so high and they're so heavy that any of the branches a good two metres below the one that Katniss is on would crack under the weight of the lightest Career. Katniss seems to realise this as well, and plays it to her advantage.

"How's things with you?" She is talking politely, but there is a distinct edge of mockery in her voice. She's playing with them. The biggest boy, I think from district 2, answers her. "Well enough. Yourself?" Katniss gives just a shadow of a smile before responding. "It's been a bit warm for my taste." Ah. She's playing cocky for the sponsors. I think that if I was a sponsor, I would probably sponsor her solely on the basis of that remark. "Why don't you come on up?" There's another one. The boy from district 2, however, doesn't seem amused. "Think I will." Someone offers him a bow and arrows, and I see Katniss's eyes flare up. I know she wanted that bow. The way she avoided archery in training, the shine in her eyes when she saw the bow at the Cornucopia. However, the boy from 2 turns down the bow, saying, "I'll do better with my sword." Hmm. That's probably true. It's a vicious-looking thing, short but sharp. He only gets about two metres up when the branch breaks. He plummets to the earth, but is unharmed and gets up, raving furiously. Glimmer, the girl from 1, also tries, but stops when the branches start creaking under her weight. She tries to shoot Katniss, but only one arrow comes close to Katniss, and she waves it tauntingly over Glimmers head. Finally, the Careers decide to stop and wait till morning. It's starting to get dark anyway. They make camp under Katniss's tree. I'm just settling down into my tree when something in Katniss's tree catches my eye. It's about three metres up from Katniss; a round, golden structure. Tracker jackers.

I know that I should just leave. Some of the others might get stung, and most people die after four or five stings. However, I don't want to let Katniss die like that. I know that it's risky, but I can't let Katniss die like that. I wait until she catches my eye, and I point above her head towards the nest.


	3. Tracker Jackers

_Here it is!!! Please review, even if you hate it. Thanks to wonderwoman, who reviewed first. If you have reviewed since I checked then thank you as well. Next chapter hopefully coming before Friday. Note I said hopefully. Anyway, enjoy!!_

I watch her eyes as Katniss follows the line of my finger up toward the tracker jacker nest. Luckily she keeps still. If she had made a noise or even made the branch vibrate, the wasps would have been on before she had time to think. I know that she knows that these are tracker jackers. She either has to do something about it or get out of that tree. I know that I trusted her enough to warn her, but I know that there is still the possibility that she could finish me off. She's small, but I'm smaller and she probably has a weapon. Deep down, I know that she wouldn't hurt me yet, but I still take the precaution of moving further back on my branch.

I watch her climb up to the nest. What? I thought the purpose of my warning her was so that she could avoid it! I'm faintly nettled at this, but then I see the glint of the Career's torchlight on her blade. It's medium length and serrated near the handle. I realise that she's going to try to saw the nest off of the branch and into the Career's camp. I know that I should probably get out of here, but curiosity and, perhaps the longing to see that Katniss faintly trusts me as well, get the better of me and I merely move further back on my branch until I'm right up against the trunk. Then the anthem rings out across the arena, and I only have time to look up and register that no-one died today before I drift into sleep.

I wake during the night, but the sky is threatening to get light within the hour, so I don't bother trying to get back to sleep. Instead, I crawl to the edge of my branch to have a look at Katniss and the Careers. Katniss has a sleeping bag and is belted onto her branch. Down below her tree, the Careers are sleeping, except for Glimmer, who is leaning against the tree. I guess she's on watch duty. There are six Careers and Katniss. Hold on. Six? But the boy from 4 was killed on the first day. Glimmer, her male counterpart, both from 2, girl from 4, and... who? I lean out further to get a better look, and give a start. It's the boy from 12. From Katniss's district. Peeta, I think. The blond hair and blue eyes are clearly visible in the light of Glimmer's torch. I sit back on my branch, trying to puzzle this out. I wonder if Katniss knows that Peeta has teamed up with the Careers. I come to the conclusion that she probably does, given that she was looking down at all six of them for quite a while. I think that this really is despicable, since nobody from any district above 4 has ever teamed up with the Careers. And anyway, Peeta's supposed to be in love with Katniss. I didn't think that was an act. He sounded sincere to me. I puzzle over this one for ages, all the time thinking, Peeta, if you win these games, your district is going to hate you forever.

It's just beginning to get light when I see Katniss waking up. She packs up all her things and I sense something's about to happen, so I do the same. I'm just finishing when I hear in a whisper, "Rue!" It's Katniss. I run to the end of my branch and look out at her. I decide to try and communicate with her. I point up to the nest, trying to say, _Get out of here or do something! _She looks up at the nest, then makes a sawing motion with her knife. So she's taking the _do something _option. I nod, and know I have to get out of here. I would be quicker on the ground, but with the Careers sleeping not two metres from the base of my tree, getting down would be suicide. I run across the branch facing away from the Career's camp and jump into the next tree. There is a faint rustling as I land, but I'm confident it's not enough to wake the Careers. I keep traveling this way for quite a while, and I've crossed at least fifteen trees when I hear two cannons. I see the girl from district 4 being lifted into the air and then, after a pause, Glimmer. Then I realise the pause would probably be because Katniss is trying to get the bows and arrows. I don't pity her. I've seen some of the people who get stung in the orchards at home, and I'l just say it's not pleasant. But I did notice that Glimmer's bow and arrows were not lifted into the air with her. I look back and think, Katniss, you succeeded. On both counts.


	4. Searching

_OK, so this chapter came a bit later than I expected. Sorry! Anyway, hopefully the next chapters will be up soon. _

_Reviews! Reviews! Reviews! You can never have too many reviews. _=D_ Enjoy!!!!!! O.o_

I continue in the trees for ages. I know the Career pack is probably back at the lake, fighting the tracker jacker venom, but I still don't want to take any risks. As I leap from branch to branch, I am reminded of home, of my orchards. I'm always up the highest in the tree. Even though I do get tired and hungry, I love being up in the trees with the wind blowing through the leaves. My mind wanders back to my siblings at home. Three sisters, two brothers. Azalea, Lassiandra, Hawthorne, Herad, Lilli. Eleven, nine, eight, six, three. All younger than me. In particular I think about Azalea, my eleven year old sister. I bet she's taken over my job in the orchards. I think, if I die, I want her to keep doing my job. Especially signaling quitting time with the mockingjays. I've noticed mockingjays around here, as well. I think of Lavender, the smallest one who only ever builds her nests out of lavender. Kingfisher, Foxy. And all of the others.

It's around noon when I finally decide to get out of the trees. I need to find more water anyway, and that'll be easier on the ground. At this point I'm not too worried about the Careers. They probably took to the lake, but if they got stung, which I'm almost certain they did, they'll still be locked in a world full of hallucinations and nightmares. I don't envy them right now, the effects can last for days. I remember when this boy, Martin, went up to a nest and hit it to see what it would sound like. His body was covered with huge stings. The tracker jacker leaves saved him from dying, but they couldn't do anything about the visions. He was groaning and screaming and crying out for three days before he finally lay still. The nests are like the Hunger Games; they punish us for something our great grandparents did.

Eventually I find a small pool. I fill my skin and I wash. It's only been a few days in the arena, but already I'm filthy. I have leaves, sticks and spiderwebs in my hair from my commute in the trees, and my burnt skin is starting to peel off, along with at least an inch of my hair, falling off from being blackened and burnt. After I wash, I sort out my supplies. I realise that food is my next priority; my berries, roots and nuts are getting dangerously non-existent and there's no way I can hunt meat.

I spend most of the day gathering food. At the end of it all I again have what I hope is enough to last me at least two days. There's not much else to do now, so I take a lot more care than was really necessary selecting a tree to nest in that night. I select an oak with a thick trunk and branches and lots of leaf cover, and climb at least twenty five metres high. I'm just reaching a good fork when the seal of the Capitol appears. The anthem plays and the images of Glimmer and the girl from 4 are shown before the sky goes dark again. After I get reasonably comfy, I run through who is left. Glimmer is dead, so the boy from 1. Both from 2. Boy from 3. The girl from 4 died this morning. Girl from 5. Boy from 10. Thresh and me. Peeta and Katniss. Fourteen dead. Ten left.

I don't realise I fall asleep until I wake up. When I do, the sun is already well into the sky. I'm vaguely surprised at this because at home, I wake up at the crack of dawn. So the only way the Capitol's changed me so far is to make me sleep better. For some reason this is extremely funny, and I laugh out loud before I clap my hand over my mouth. Another tribute could be right under this tree! However, I check and nobody's there. This is cruel, not only when every minute you are in danger of being killed by someone within six years of your own age, but also when you can't even laugh without worrying about dying.

As I pack up I wonder what to do. I know I should just lay low and do nothing, but I had a good nights sleep and I'm full of energy. I decide to spy on the Careers camp again. I want to see how badly they got stung, and also, whether or not Peeta's with them.

It takes me a while to find my way out of the woods, but when I do I emerge about three hundred metres away from the Career's camp. I run to a tree with a branch overhanging the Career's tents and climb it. Peering down I see that all of the Careers have been stung at least once, including the boy from 3. I suppose he got stung when the Careers drew the wasps back to the lake. All of them are apparently asleep, but are trapped in a world of nightmares. Occasionally one of them screams or moans. But the one tribute I'm looking for, namely Peeta, isn't with them. I try to lower myself down, but Cato screams out and opens his eyes. He sits up abruptly, and I know if I do anything he will see me. I stay absolutely still, and am preparing to run when he falls back down, and when I look, his eyes are closed. That scared me, though, so I get back up to my branch and jump from tree to tree, as fast as I can.

That night I hardly sleep. I can't get comfortable, I can't seem to close my eyes. I only get to sleep just before the sun comes up, and I wake only about two hours later. I clamber down from my tree and, just because I need something to do, I spend an hour looking for water. In the end, however, I don't find water. I get preoccupied with something else.

I'm passing a clump of bushes when I spot a bush that's been trampled over. I know immediately that one of the other tributes passed through here. It couldn't have been any of the Careers, they're all back at the lake, so who else is there? The boy from 3 is with the Careers as well. The girl from 5 is too smart to be leaving huge trails like this. It could be the boy from 10 with the bad leg, but even with his disability, he wouldn't move this heavily. I saw Thresh heading for the grain fields, so not him. It could have been Peeta or Katniss, but they are also much too smart. I puzzle over this for a while, when I realise that this bush was crushed by someone who wasn't in full control of him or herself. Someone who had been stung by tracker jackers.

I know right then that either Peeta or Katniss is somewhere beyond those broken bushes. The Careers are all back at the lake and unless the other tributes were very close to that nest, they weren't stung. Judging from the size of the hole, I would say Katniss. Peeta is much bigger and stockier than her, and although it's partly crushed, it's not as if someone very heavy crashed through it. I know I should head the other way but, as is usual with me, curiosity wins out and I follow the trails.

It's not very hard to follow, to be honest. The path of destruction makes it clear that whoever made it was stung, probably not just once but several times. The plants seem to be getting greener as I go; not by much, but just enough to be noticeable. I know I'm getting closer to water. I'm almost getting bored when I spot what I was looking for. Curled up on her side, eyes open and still, not screaming or even moving, the venom out of her system. The girl on fire. Katniss.


End file.
